La Cañada officials expect a thinner budget margin in 2016-17
La Cañada Flintridge City Council members learned last Thursday, in the first of several budget hearings for Fiscal Year 2016-17, that while the city’s operational costs can be covered, there won’t be as much fat to go around as last year.
The city’s finance department estimates total general fund revenue and allocations for Fiscal Year 2016-17 will be at $13,162,350, while baseline expenditures (before the addition of any new items the City Council may approve for FY 2016-17) are estimated to be $12,413,925.
That leaves the City Council with a total of $748,425 in funds to dedicate to community group requests, city programs and capital projects for next year.
The amount of discretionary money available for council considerations, however, is about half of the $1.5 million the panel had at its disposal last year and far shy of the more than $3.1 million in fundable projects currently on the city’s wish list.
With community groups seeking a collective $358,650 and capital projects previously identified as priorities tallying at about $1.94 million, council members will have to act with efficiency in mind as they move through the budget process.
Councilman Dave Spence said he’d be in favor of discussing a possible limit on the collective amount community groups could ask for since that number had increased dramatically since last year’s $295,725, partly due to the addition of the new La Cañada Flintridge Sister Cities Assn.
“They seem to be growing exponentially — every time we give someone something, it’s a little bit higher,” Spence said. “You can’t just keep going up and up and up.”
City Manager Mark Alexander summarized in the meeting several key aspects of the proposed budget, sharing the proposed incomes or expenditures associated with each. The highest revenue generators in La Cañada are property taxes and sales taxes, he said, expected to bring a respective $4.3 million and $2.6 million into the city next fiscal year.
Smaller sources of income include more than $1.7 million in anticipated building permits and plan check fees, $301,125 from zoning fees and $142,050 from Lanterman Auditorium fees.
“There are a couple of revenue sources that are taking a slight dip,” Alexander explained. “One of the examples that we’re projecting for next year is a decrease because of the loss of sales tax revenue losing Sport Chalet — that was a very high revenue generator in sales tax for the city.”
Meanwhile, the city plans to set aside more than $3.8 million for operation of its Public Works Department and $2.3 million for the Community Development Department, Alexander said. It will take an estimated $2.35 million to fund the Administrative Department in the upcoming year.
Public safety and law enforcement will come at an overall cost of $3.6 million, the city manager told council members. A $2.3 million base contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reflects a 3.7% increase passed on by the county agency for the upcoming fiscal year. The contract also includes $145,000 for directed patrols and $175,250 for a school resource officer and community liaison position.
Alexander also shared projections for the city’s reserve fund, which at the close of Fiscal Year 2015-16 is expected to equate to about 129% of the city’s operating budget. Traditionally, the council requests that city officials maintain a reserve fund equivalent of 100% to 150% of La Cañada’s operational budget.
“We’re fortunate,” the city manager explained. “Cities with operating budgets of $24 million might have $7 million to $10 million in reserve. So to have over 100% in reserve is a rarity.”
Budget meetings will continue on Monday and Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., at La Cañada Flintridge City Hall, 1327 Foothill Blvd., with a fourth meeting scheduled for Wednesday, if needed. On Monday morning, community group representatives will plead their cases for the city funds requested by their respective organizations. The city will also review special funds and the proposed budget for the Community Development Department.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
